The North Greene football team will be making its most important road trip in years on Friday night as it heads to Cloudland chasing its first ever region championship.
A lot is on the line for the Huskies this week. With a win they would clinch a home playoff game. They would be one step closer to the program’s first region championship. They would tie the program record for wins in a season, and they would earn the 100th win in program history.
“I enjoy these types of game. This is why you get into coaching. This why you play football, for opportunities like this,” North Greene coach Eric Tilson said. “We can’t say that we have had this opportunity since I’ve been here. We have worked hard to get to this point. Every player that has been here over the past four years has contributed to us getting here. We shouldn’t have to motivate anybody coming into this game.”
Heading into Friday North Greene is 5-2 and 3-0 in Region 1-1A action. Cloudland is 3-3 on the year and 2-1 in league play. Last week the Highlanders fell to Cosby 27-26 to end a 35-game win streak against region opponents. Cosby leads the league at 7-1, 4-0, and the Huskies will host the Eagles on November 1 to wrap up the regular season.
The Highlanders will rely on their power running game on Friday and last week that ground attack produced a pair of 100-yard rushers. Grayson Cole ran for 178 yards on 23 carries while Landon Barnette had 116 yards on 10 carries against Cosby.
“On the surface they may seem really simple. But they put themselves in good positions and they scheme a lot more than what people give them credit for,” Tilson said. “They have a two-headed monster in the backfield and they ran for over 300 yards last week. They will come right at you, and then try some shot plays. Our front has to do a great job, and we have to tackle well. That is what this game will come down to. We have challenged our guys to step up and make the most of this opportunity.”
Last week North Greene beat Unaka 44-6, and in that effort quarterback Thomas Darnell led the offense with three rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown, all in the first half. Yeshua Vaught, Brayden Weems and Leon Johnson all broke off good runs while Jake Duffy and Matthew Boyd made big plays in the passing game.
The Huskies expect Cloudland to play a lot of man coverage and load the box on defense. That means they will look for the right formations and plays to create mismatches for their bounty of playmakers.
The Huskies and Highlanders have played 45 times in their histories and the Huskies have only won three of those meetings. The last North Greene win came in 2014, 21-7. The last time North Greene won on Roan Mountain was in 2011. But no game against the Highlanders has been for stakes as high as what they will play for on Friday.
“It would mean a lot to reach those milestones,” Tilson said. “And you want to do it against the best teams. We want to be top dogs, and to do that we have to take down the top dogs. As a competitor I get chills thinking about it. I’ve had a smile on my face all week. I’m excited about this game.”
